The present invention relates to a temporary or a permanent roadway for accommodating vehicular traffic and to a method for constructing said roadway.
In the drilling of oil wells or in the search for oil fields or in the repair of different devices in remote areas, it is very difficult to enable trucks and other heavy equipment to transport the necessary apparatus and equipment to the desired site because of poor ground conditions. For example, if the ground is too wet, trucks and heavy equipment cannot traverse the ground. In the past, this problem has been dealt with by laying down gravel, shale or the like or, alternatively, by laying down a series of boards to form a road. These approaches are extremely labor intensive and expensive. Further, there is the constant problem of repair to the temporary road. Additionally, it is difficult to remove the boards if one is damaged and needs to be replaced. Thus, a better approach to forming a road to support vehicles and heavy equipment is needed.
The patent literature contains a number of patents directed to portable roadways for allowing vehicles to traverse various types of terrain. U.S. Pat. No. 3,859,000 to Webster, U.S. Pat. No. 4,097,948 to Finsterwalder, U.S. Pat. No. 4,376,596 to Green, U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,776 to Pouyer, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,631 to Connor exemplify these portable roadways. It is also known in the patent literature to form a variety of different support structures from concrete. U.S. Pat. No. 4,318,362 to Jung, U.S. Pat. No. 4,958,964 to Soto et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,524 to Kyhl et al. exemplify floating docks and pavements formed from concrete.
There remains a need however for a roadway which can be easily constructed by using a minimal number of modular elements and which requires minimal disturbance to the terrain over which the roadway will pass. There is also needed a temporary roadway which can support heavy loads, up to 100 tons. Still further, there is a need for a roadway which can be easily disassembled and whose elements can be reused.